


Sky High

by Demonlucy



Category: Hiveswap, Hiveswap Friendsim, Homestuck
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Drone Attack, First Meetings, Lusus death, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Slight Violence, can be read as platonic, will tag as I go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2020-02-27 17:23:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18743611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demonlucy/pseuds/Demonlucy
Summary: How Mallek and Diemen met and how Mallek would later save his life





	1. Pulling you up

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really bad at summaries!  
> If you want me to tag anything please let me know! :)

Mallek was out of his hive and on his way to a grubmart, that was thankfully only a few blocks away, to replenish his energy drink stash and maybe he'd pick up something to snack on while he was there. He might as well, His latest coding task was causing him quite a few problems that he had already dedicated two nights and last day trying to fix to no avail. It was starting to look like another sleepless day awaited him.  
The fresh night air was doing wonders for his fried pan, he could already feel his body thanking him for the change of view and exorcise. 

Mallek entered the store and headed straight for drinks section, trying to ignore the many isles of tempting but generally useless products.

After buying his selection of energy drinks and quite a number of snacks, a rather large amount that he didn't really need and would definitely end up eating in one sitting regardless of the bags suggested serving size of 5 Trolls.

He was nearly out the door before he was caught and drawn in by wonderful smell of the hotdog counter. Mallek waited patiently behind a small Rust blood who was just paying for his hotdog. The short Troll looked like 12th pedigree came early when he was handed the hotdog, Mallek didn't think he'd ever seen anyone as happy to receive a hotdog in all his life, it was cute. The Rust blood was smiling brightly as he left, leaving Mallek with a small smile of his own as he ordered, luckily the cerulean managed to buy the last hotdog of the night.

He had just left the shop, bag in one hand, fresh hotdog in the other and was already feeling miles better than he had been when he first left his Hive. A loud crash accompanied by a harsh "Watch where you're going Rusty." Broke his pleasant mood.

When he glanced down the nearby side street where the voice and noise came from, he saw the Rust blood that had been in front of him at the hotdog Counter, lying on the floor under some rubbish from a trashcan that he had very clearly been pushed into. A taller cerulean blooded troll walked away from the mess snickering to themselves.

Mallek frowned at the scene and walked over to help the other troll up. The rust blood had already sat up and was staring down at his ruined meal by the time Mallek reached him. 

"hey, you alright;" He asked, extending a hand. The other troll jumped at the sound of his voice, not expecting anyone else to be around, but took the offered hand with only a slight apprehension upon seeing the colour of the others sign.

"(|yeah I'm alright. can't say the same for my **Sweet Meat** though|)" he said sadly, brushing some of the grime off his puffy vest.

Mallek followed his gaze down to the squished and soiled remains of the once glorious hotdog. He glanced at the other trolls face which had been so full of joy just moments ago and now looked like he had been dragged through the dirt, which to be fair he kind of had.

"here, you can have mine;” Mallek offered, handing his own hotdog to the now bewildered troll. He held the hotdog with two hands like it was some precious gift the gods themselves had given him.

"(|are you sure|)" he asked, looking up at Mallek with what would probably have been wide hopeful eyes had they not been hidden behind a full fringe. 

"i’m sure. it= the last one of the night and anyway;" he russled his bag for emphasis "i've got way more snacks for tonight;" He turned, leaving the other Troll stunned at the generosity, and headed back the way he came. 

Mallek was about halfway down the main street he was originally walking down when he heard the other Troll call out from behind.  
"(|THANK YOU KIND GIVER OF THE **OBLONG MEAT PRODUCT** |)"

Mallek laughed and gave a small salute to the troll waving from the side street.

He was still smiling when he got back to his hive and even though it took him another four hours to finally crack that code he wasn't even the slightest bit mad.

 

\--

 

It was roughly a week later and Mallek was roaming the town with no real plan or destination in mind this early in the night. He rounded the corner and slammed right into another Troll, sending them crashing to the ground. Mallek stumbled slightly but was otherwise fine.

"dude, my bad. I wasn't watch- hotdog guy!;" He exclaimed upon recognising the small Troll he was already helping up. The Troll in question looked confused for a moment before he smiled brightly up at the cerulean blooded Troll.  
"(|no way, i've been calling you **Hotdog** guy too|)" he said with a laugh. 

"(|i'm diemen by the way|)" Diemen held out a hand which the other took and shook lightly "mallek. it= nice to officially meet you;" 

"(|likewise. hey wanna grab a bite to eat, my treat... unless you're busy|)" Diemen smiled nervously, gesturing towards the many cafes and snackbars. Mallek smiled. "i don't mind, not like i was doing anything anyway;" 

The two of them started walking towards one of the closest snackbars with seating. "you don't have to pay for it all though, i can pay for my self it's cool;" Diemen was already shaking his head before Mallek had finished. "(|not a chance, this is payback for the other week. It's the least I can do|)" Mallek decided not to push it, the other clearly wasn't planning to change him mind anytime soon.

A few minutes later and they were sat at one of the outside tables with a hotdog and soda each. They then spent the next few hours talking and slowly eating their meal.

"(|-and my lusus was so mad that i came back so close to dawn, he locked the grubsause away. nothing but dry **Dogs** for about a week|)" Diemen exclaimed, give a small shudder as he remembered that dark time. Mallek chuckled at the others animated story "that sucks dude;" Diemen nodded and became suddenly very interested in his empty cup.

"(|so there's this gold blood DJ playing tonight at the concert hive at 1, me and a few other rusties from my neighbourhood are going, if you're free you can totally tag along if you want|)" 

"I'm quite busy later;" Mallek said honestly but upon seeing Diemen’s face fall he quickly amended his statement. "i've got to pick up some robot parts and finish the drawings for the next model buuuut if I can finish up early I might be able to catch the end of the concert;" The other trolls smile was instantaneous and infectious. After that Diemen made a rather quite getaway, most likely leaving before Mallek could change his mind. He stayed just long enough to remind him about the time and place, as well as wish the cerulean a lovely night with a hopeful "(|see you soon|)" shouted over his shoulder as he ran off.

Mallek had decided to finish his drawings for his next model first as it was the task that would take the longest. By the time he was happy with it and out the door, it was already a few minutes to 4. If he just picked up some essential wires and computer chips should be able to make it to the concert for the last few songs, Diemen did say that it ends at 5 maybe later with an encore.

Mallek was picking out fuses and wires as quick as he could when a conversation between two high blooded trolls caught his attention and made his blood run cold.

"Did ¥ou h€a£ that a d£on€ attack i$ goin to hit the conc€£t hiv€ in the £u$t¥ n€ighbou£hood? ¥ou£ moi£ail liv€s that ₩a¥ £ight."  
“Ye@h, luckily they h@ve no interest in th@ kind of thing. I'll subgrub them to make sure though.”


	2. Dragging you out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mallek races to the concert hive to save Diemen
> 
> ((Cannon typical violence in this one by drone attack but only vaguely))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this has been sat in a work document forever, sorry about that  
> Let me know if you want anything tagging!

Mallek was sure he had never moved so fast in all his life. He had run straight out of the electric shop, dropping all of his collected parts on to the floor, much to the shop assistants anger. He knew that it would take far too long for him to go all the way back to his hive and get his scuttle buggy so his only option was just to run as fast as he possibly could and pray that he made it in time. 

The only things running through his mind as he sprinted full speed down the streets was Diemen’s happy face, his obsessive love of hotdogs and the fact that he might no longer exist if Mallek didn't hurry.

He reached the street that the Concert Hive was on and stopped briefly gasping for breath. His vision wavered, his ears rang and the taste of copper filled his mouth. He saw a number of high bloods already exiting the streets, some dragging their low blood quadrant mates as they left the Concert Hive.

If the high bloods had already evacuated then Mallek was almost out of time. He ran full speed once more ignoring the protest of his body and a few shouts from some of the kinder fleeing high bloods warning him to stay away.

Upon entering the building his hopes sank, the concert hive wasn't a large building by any means but it wasn't a small one either and it was completely filled with low blood trolls all dancing to loud Bolder music played by that Goldblood DJ Diemen had mentioned earlier that night.

It was honestly really good, Mallek would love to listen to it again when he wasn't panicky pushing himself through the crowd, shouting the Diemen’s name in a desperate attempt to find him. 

He even tried to get a few younger trolls to leave while he was looking for the other Troll but the music drowned out his voice and the young trolls were soon focused back on the concert.

His luck was running out. Mallek was sure that any second now a few drones would crash through the roof leaving only a small number of trolls who would live to tell about it and with the amount of energy he used to get here he really doubted that he would be one of the survivors.

Suddenly a hand grabbed his arm and he turned to see Diemen’s flushed grinning face. Mallek's legs nearly gave out in relief at finally finding the other Troll.

"(| I'M SO HAPPY YOU CAME! I STARTED TO THINK THAT YOU WOULDN'T SHOW BUT YOU'RE HERE! YOU'RE REALLY HERE! |)" Diemen screamed over the music, even then Mallek only caught the odd word that he lip read, no amount of screaming could over shadow the sound of the music.

He grabbed hold of the others hand, pulling the little Troll closer making Diemen’s cheeks flush a darker hue.

"WE HAVE TO GO! WE HAVE TO GO RIGHT NOW!;" Mallek shouted, knowing full well that Diemen wouldn't hear it, but it made him feel like he was actually doing something.

"(| WHAT? |)" 

It was hard enough trying to muscle his way through the large crowd originally, trying to do so again with two Trolls would be almost impossible, and to Mallek’s dismay he immediately realised that he had lost sight of the exit while trying to find the rust blood. The two were lost in the sea of Trolls, the exit was nowhere in sight and the drone could descend on them any second. 

Mallek glanced around in a panicked frenzy looking for the way he came in. 

 

He needed the crowd to move so they could escape. 

 

He needed all the trolls to start running so that as many of them as possible survived.

 

Diemen’s mouth was moving, his face coloured with confusion and worry at the others strange behaviour, he was saying something probably asking Mallek a question. Maybe asking if he was alright but he couldn’t hear him over the noise.

 

He needed the music to stop so he could think!

 

Mallek really couldn't afford to waste another second, he knew that their lives depended on him right now. Still gripping Diemen’s hand, he put the other to his temple and stared intently at the DJ. He wasn't as gifted as the rest of his fellow blood class was when it came to controlling other Trolls through their mind powers, his talents lay more in the field of robotics and coding.

On the few and far between moments he had tried to use his mind powers he had failed miserably, he never could control another Troll he never knew why he couldn't, didn’t know what he was doing wrong but it didn’t bother him too much as he didn’t really agree with the ways in which the majority of his class used their powers in the first place.

On this occasion he didn't need to control the Goldblood DJ or any of them, he only needed to warn them.

Mallek focused on his own feeling of panic, of impending doom, of the conversation he had overheard and the scene of all the high bloods fleeing the concert hive.

The music stuttered and stopped, leaving deafening silence and confused Trolls. 

"~DRONE &TT&CK!~" The DJ yelled into the mic. There was a beat of silence followed by pure panic.

Trolls scattered instantly, all of them heading towards any type of exit, those with psionics and strong telekinetic powers where using high windows while others ran through doors and crawled out of low windows. It would have be quite impressive if the threat of being trampled wasn't so high.

Diemen squeezed Mallek's hand and ran into the flowing crowd heading to one of the closest exits with surprising speed, dragging the cerulean close behind him.

Most of the trolls were already halfway out the building when the roof exploded and the drones swarmed in.  
The two of them had just made it out of the building and into the street, when the rest of the concert hive exploded. The explosion sent many trolls flying, including Mallek and Diemen who hit the pavement hard. Diemen groaned clutched his head to try and quell the ringing in his ears. Mallek gave a wheezy cough, having been winded in the fall. He looked up just in time to see a large chunk of the concert hive hurtling towards them, in instinct he flung himself over Diemen hoping that he would be strong enough to shield them both from the incoming collision. 

The crackle of psionics were strangely loud, giving the background noise of death and destruction.  
The two of them glanced up to see the chunk of building that was going to crush them hovering with the green and purple psionics of the Goldblood DJ.  
The other troll had set the debris aside as Mallek and Diemen helped each other up, having briefly forgotten about the drones still attacking the place.

"thanks dude;" 

"(| yeah thanks |)" 

"~No problem, just returning the f&vour.~" The Troll said honestly, before taking off.  
Mallek, remembering what situation they were still in, grabbed Diemen’s hand again and ran as fast as his legs would allow. Only stopping once Diemen and him where safely inside his apartment.  
The two collapsed to the floor, backs against the door, gasping for breath.

They were both littered in scrape wounds from where they had hit the floor and the pains from pushing themselves were starting to make themselves know now that the adrenalin had started wearing off.

"(| you saved me |)" Diemen said softly when he was finally able to speak.

"yeah;" 

"(| you put yourself in the same hive as drones to save me |)"

"yeah;" 

"(| ... that was pretty fucking stupid |)" Diemen smiled lovingly at him. 

"yeah;" Mallek laughed, "scared myself half to death but i'd still do it again;" He smiled back, before getting up with some difficulty and offering a hand to Diemen.  
"come on, let's get these wounds clean and then sleep for a sweep. i only have one recuperacoon though, sorry;" 

Diemen took the hand with a tired smile "(| dude i'm so tired, i'd sleep on my feet if i had to. |)"


	3. Taking you home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diemens neighbourhood is destroyed and Malleks a little to late

The two Trolls ended up sleeping all day and half of the next night in Malleks recoopercoon.  
The pain from their scrapes and aching muscles was somehow even worse than the night before. Mallek had offered the short troll a change of clothes, Diemen took the soft pj pants covered in Malleks own sign but was quite happy in his own shirt that had miraculously survived the night before. Mallek wasn't going to get over how cute the small Troll looked in his pj pants, that were far to big for him, anytime soon.  
Mallek opted for an old hoodie that had softened with age and some sweatpants, since he had no plans that involved moving from the couch tonight unless it was to get some food.  
"go ahead and get comfy on the couch; i'll grab us some grub;" Mallek waves a hand in the direction of the living room while he made his way to the kitchen.

"(| don't mind if i do |)" 

 

Mallek walked into the living room not long after with a tray piled high with food and drink. Diemen was sat on one end of the couch, cuddled in a few blankets he must have found lying around. Mallek smiled and flopped down next to him after putting the tray down on the small coffee table in front of them.

Diemen shuffled the blankets around so that they could both share before he grabbed a can and some junk food.

"that was one stressful night huh;" Mallek sighed as he took a sip of one of the energy drinks he had brought over, he certainly needed it. Diemen nodded "(| i still cant believe it... not the drone attack, that i can believe |)" he huffed and gave a small smile to the cerulean blooded Troll beside him. "(| i cant believe that you rushed in to save me, you were really cool back there dude |)" 

Mallek snorted with a smile "thanks but you were the one that got us out of there; i totally got lost in that crowd, there was no way i would have found the exit if you hadnt taken charge; that DJ was really good though with i could listen to some more of their music some time;"  
"(| i know right, you could say their music is to die for |)" Diemen smirked as Mallek chuckled.  
"almost; on another note i really think we should swap contact info so i can just call you and make sure we don't nearly die again;" the cerulean got his phone out and handed it over to the rust blood.

Diemen opened the contacts and hummed "(| hmm i dont know, if i put my number in here you won't come running heroically to my rescue anymore, it would be too easy if you can just call |)" Mallek smiled softly at him "i'll still come running to your rescue just to make sure you're alright, but this way we don't have another close call;" Diemen blushed and put his info in, handing Mallek his phone to do the same.

"(| now onto the important question. what movies do you have and what order shall we watch them all in |)"

 

Watching movies, shows and playing games at each other's hives became a regular thing. The pair usually alternated on who's hosting film and game night at least twice a week, maybe more if they had time to spare.

Mallek knew that they both had feelings for each other but neither had worked out if those feelings were of the red or pale variety or a combination of the two.  
That was fine, they didn't need to figure everything out right now and if they never figured it out that was fine too.

Diemen's hive now had a few of Malleks clothes and some robot parts that the cerulean would tinker with while he was over there. Malleks hive also had a selection of Diemens spare clothes as well as a kitchen that was always stocked with the right hotdog making products. They still shared a recoopercoon despite a spare now being available in a separate room that Mallek had cleared out in case Diemen ever wanted his own space.

It was nice.

They were going to meet at the convenient store with, in Diemens opinion, the best hot dogs tomorrow and then head on over to Diemens hive for movies and games. Mallek was looking forward to it, he ended up throwing himself into a new robotics project just so he would stop watching the clock and getting frustrated with how slow the flow of time seemed to be.

The TV was on quietly in the background and Mallek had long stopped paying attention to what it was saying. A Seadweller giving a big speech here, updates on the galactic conquest there, a few highbloods talking their gods, another low blood neighborhood not that far away being demolished by drones.

Malleks head shot up and he stared intently at the TV, eyes wide as he looked at camera footage of a very familiar lowblood neighborhood.  
He snatched his phone from his hoodie, already running out of the room as he called Diemen.

"come on; come on; pick up diemen;" Mallek pleaded as he got into the scuttle buggy, the phone pressed between his ear and shoulder.

"(| Hey- |)"

"Diemen!; where are you; im-;" 

"(| -this is Diemen I can't come to the phone right now so leave a message after the beep if you want, see ya |)"  
The phone gave a beep and Mallek swore, the brief relief he had felt when he thought Diemen picked up was crushed with double the amount of nauseating dread when it turned out to be the recorded mesage.

The drive there was thankfully quick, it helped that there was no real traffic trying to get into the low blood neighborhood. What wasn't helping Malleks nerves was the fact that he had tried calling Diemen a few more times and the last few didn't even ring. Mallek had to abandon the buggy a few streets away, the vehicle no longer able to travel through the rubble littered streets. 

The smell of blood and smoke filled the air along with the screams and cries of those who had managed survived the culling. He ran past bloodied trolls and left over wreckage that where once hives. 

Mallek ran through streets and towards the crumbled mess of Diemens hive. "no no no no;" he chants in between calling out the other trolls name. 

"DIEMEN!?;" he shouted once he was stood in the littered drive. Hearing nothing the cerulean started to dig through the rubble, moving larger and heavier chunks as quickly as he could, still calling out for the other Troll as much as he could.  
After moving a particularly heavy piece Mallek stumbled and fell on his side. Wincing as the bits of rubble that he was unlucky enough to fall on dug painfully into his side.

Pushing himself up to his knees he felt it.  


Blood.

He had put his hand in a small but steadily growing puddle of red blood that was leaking from under what was probably once a wall in the hive. One too large and too heavy for the other Troll to move.

Tears formed in his eyes and he couldn't look away from the puddle or his blood stained hands.

He was too late, if he had paid more attention to the TV he could have gotten here quicker and then maybe he wouldn't be kneeling in a puddle of Rustie blood.

In a puddle of Diemens blood.  
Malleks pretty sure he's crying now, he can feel the wetness on his cheeks but he's not sure when he started and hes not sure when hes going to stop.

It's over now. Everything they had or might have had is gone and Mallek is alone again.

He hears gravel crunch behind him but he doesn't care. It's only when he hears the soft call of his name that he turns.

Stood a few feet away from him, bloodied and looking a little worse for wear was Diemen.  
A few seconds passed in silence as they stared at each other, both Trolls seeming unable to move until Mallek with tears still streaming down his face rushed to his feet and ran to embrace the small Troll. He need to make sure the Diemen was really here and that he wasn't just imagining the other in his grief.

Mallek clutched Diemen to his chest and held him probably tighter then was probably necessary. He gave a small chocked sob into the other trolls hair in relief when he felt the warmth of Diemens form, he was alive. The two sank to their knees as Mallek no longer had the energy to stand. Diemen gripped Mallek just as tight, small hands holding on to the other Trolls hoodie like a life line.

"(| you came |)" the small Troll whispered into Malleks shoulder. Trembling, they both were.  
"of course i did; i...; i thought i lost you; there's so much blood i thought;" Diemen squeezed him tighter just to remind himself that the small Troll was here and not crushed under a stack of rubble, they were both crying now.  
"(| My lusus |)" Diemen choked out, "(| h-he threw me out the window before everything collapsed |)" 

Mallek held him tighter as the Troll cried "i'm so sorry Diemen, he was a great lusus right till the end; let's get out of here for now, come back to mine; you can stay as long as you want;" Diemen pulled back just a little to gaze at the dark red blood puddle, he nodded and got to his feet with the cerulean.

"(| okay |)"


End file.
